Good question, glad you asked! Well, there are a few methods you can try to get this information depending on which software you are running. It’s possible these methods will not work under your specific configuration, but it won’t hurt to give them a try.

WordPress

Method 1: Log in to the admin panel at URL YourDomain.com/wp-admin. In the Dashboard, the “At A Glimpse” box shows the version number that is running. If you don’t see it displayed in the Dashboard, try one of the following alternatives.

Method 2: Enter the URL YourDomain.com/readme.html and press Enter. The page that displays should show the version number near the top of the page. If not, try the next method.

Method 3: Go to the front page of your website at URL YourDomain.com. Now right-click on the page and choose to view the page’s source code. It will not be easy to read, but you can now do a find (Ctrl-F) for text “generator” and press Enter. You may see a line highlighted that looks similar to this example showing the version number: <meta name="generator" content="WordPress 4.3" />

Joomla

Method 1: Log in to the admin panel at URL YourDomain.com/administrator. On the Control Panel page, you may see the version number that is running displayed at the bottom of the page in the footer area. If you don’t see it displayed there, try one of the following alternatives.

Method 2: Log in to the admin panel at URL YourDomain.com/administrator. From the top menu, select System > System Information. On this page, there will be a row labeled “Joomla Version” that will display the version number followed by other details.

Method 3: Go to the front page of your website at URL YourDomain.com. Now right-click on the page and choose to view the page’s source code. It will not be easy to read, but you can now do a find (Ctrl-F) for text “generator” and press Enter. You may see a line highlighted that looks similar to this example possibly showing the version number: <meta name="generator" content="Joomla! - Open Source Content Management - Version 3.4.3" />

UPDATE 7/11/2016 – Method 4: Input the URL YourDomain.com/administrator/manifests/files/joomla.xml. This should work for Joomla 2.5 and 3.x.

For various reasons related to different configurations, plugins or security measures, it’s possible none of the above methods work for you. If not, I suggest you shoot a quick email to your webmaster/designer just to ask the simple question: “Can you please tell me what WordPress/Joomla version I am currently running?” Specify the software you are running, either WordPress or Joomla.

OK, now I know the version I have, but is it the most current version?

Another good question! Let’s find out. First, just take a good look at the main admin screen you logged in to for Method 1 above. If you are running an old version, the current version number is usually displayed prominently on the screen along with an option to update to it. If you don’t see any sign of the current version number, then there is a guaranteed way to find it depending on which software you are running – see below.

WordPress

Go to the WordPress.org home page. You should see an option to download the current version and the current version number should also be displayed in the button label (e.g. “Download WordPress 4.3”).

Joomla

Go to the Joomla.org home page. Click the Download link. This page will show the current version number in the button label (e.g. “Download Joomla! 3.4.3”)

If you’ve found that your website software is out of date, it’s time to get in touch with your webmaster, administrator, designer or what have you and have your site updated to keep it secure and bug free.

While it may be possible to update your site software yourself (if you’re a site administrator), unless you’re experienced with this type of maintenance, I would leave it to the professionals!

Did you find the software version you’re running? Feel free to comment!